Dismissal of Cornwall Commons' $38M suit against town upheld

Monday

CORNWALL – A panel of four Appellate Court judges has upheld the 2015 dismissal of Cornwall Commons’ $38 million lawsuit against the town.

The suit accused the town of deliberately delaying approval of the project.

Cornwall Commons originally was approved in 2008. Plans called for building 480 homes for active seniors 55 and older on 197 acres west of the interchange of routes 9W and 218.

But when the market for senior housing dried up, the developers sought to rezone the planned residential development district that was established for the original plan. They sought to allow 65 percent of the homes to be sold on the open market.

When the developers felt the town was taking too long processing that application, they filed a suit asking the court to compel the town to act in a timely, diligent and good-faith manner.

They also sought to have the court direct the Town Board to act as lead agency, rather than delegating that role to the Planning Board.

But the appellate judges backed up state Supreme Court Judge Elaine Slobod’s dismissal of the suit.

“The petitioner … failed to proffer evidence that any of the steps taken by the Town Board in considering the rezoning application did not serve a legitimate purpose,” the decision stated in part. Those steps included deferring lead agency status to the Planning Board, which “the court may only annul … if it is not rational.”

Michael Zarin, the lawyer for Cornwall Commons, could not be reached for comment.

mrandall@th-record.com

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